Near-Impossible Feats

In its 13-year history, Major League Eating has witnessed some remarkable
achievements. While it may be hard to hit .400 over the course of a baseball
season, or rush for 2,000 yards during 16 football games, it's really,
really hard to eat 44 lobsters in 12 minutes, or 30 matzo balls in
less than six minutes, or 44 cupcakes in eight minutes. Best known of the
contests is the hot dog eating competition at Brooklyn's Coney Island on
Independence Day. Here's how grueling the contest can be.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/Getty Images